Gay Honeymoons Value is Millions

Civil unions are coming to a market near you. And when they get there - be ready. The annual spending on gay and lesbian civil partnerships in the UK shows that this market means big money. Travel and tourism brands - take careful note.


Ian Johnson, Out Now
November 16, 2008

Civil Unions. UK gay and lesbian consumer market. Gay weddings. Lesbian and gay honeymoons. Out Now 2008 Millivres UK Gay Market Study.

Ask anyone - getting married is usually a costly exercise.

New figures just released - using actual Civil Partnerships data from the UK Office of National Statistics coupled with (pun intended) Out Now's latest actual spend data on gay honeymoons, reveals a large market in the UK for gay and lesbian honeymoons.

Travel and tourism needs to sit up, take note and then plan.

How will your brand best position itself to capture a slice of a brand new multi-million market?

The figures from 2007 show a 47% drop from the very high numbers of 2006, when the floodgates opened and almost 20,000 lesbian and gay couples got married in the first year of Civil Partnerships becoming available in the UK. That was always to be expected.

The question then becomes - is the value of the Civil Partnerships market sufficiently large in a 'regular' year to justify consumer marketing activities targeting this market?

2007 Data

What is interesting is that in 2007 - our first 'regular' year of UK civil partnerships - the numbers have actually settled down at a very healthy level: yielding a market that is valued in the many millions of pounds.

In 2007 4,242 male couples and 3,393 female couples entered Civil Partnerships in the UK.

At the same time as this was happening - Out Now was researching Millivres media titles in the UK and so we are able to mine a wealth of actual data from respondents who have entered civil partnerships during this period, and combine it with the National Statistics Office data to create a total market value for gay honeymoons - along with other aspects of Civil Partnerships, like hiring a venue, the reception, buying rings, spending on stag nights and much more.

Get ready

Gay honeymoons now account for almost £50 million spending each year - and the global travel and tourism sectors need to understand this and develop strategies to position their hotel, tour company or destination as the brand of first choice for a market segment that we confidently predict will sustain strong growth in coming years - as more markets become legal jurisdictions where gays and lesbians can marry.

This is a market you can choose to ignore and watch your competitors scoop it up - or you can act.

The growing gay honeymoons market is out there right now making multi-million value decisions today. Lesbian and gay honeymoons are not going away. Well, actually they are all about going away - but you get what I mean.

To discuss your gay and lesbian civil unions marketing strategy, just contact Out Now.

For a full breakdown of the UK gay market research data on Civil Partnerships spending - contact Out Now to buy the full report.

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For information and help with understanding key gay and lesbian marketing issues, to most effectively understand and meet the consumer needs of the lesbian and gay market, rely on the gay market experts, Out Now. Leading in the gay market since 1992.

All content on all Out Now websites (C) 2008 - Out Now. If you find any material you believe is subject to other copyrights here, other than allowed fair use for copyright purposes, please contact Out Now with details. LGBT communications. Gay PR. Global GLBT marketing, gay public relations strategy, GLBT PR, LGBT issues training, gay advertising, LGBT market, lesbian and gay market research leaders, gay marketing. Gay Market News is Gay Marketing 101 - Out Now Gay Marketing, Advertising, Gay PR, Market Research. Travel Market. Training. Out Now Gay Market News -- Gay Marketing 101 gay market updates site. gay market gay advertising gay marketing gay tourism gay travel pink dollar pink pound gay agency advertising marketing travel tourism gay lesbian gay and lesbian market research glbt lgbt communications community pink euro

Gay Travel Market Value Revealed at WTM

Lesbian and gay tourism market value revealed at London WTM World Travel Market.


Ian Johnson, Out Now
November 15, 2008

TOPICS: Lesbian and gay marketing. LGBT travel market. GLBT travel marketing. Gay tourism. Lesbian travel market.

Out Now this week revealed the extent of the value available in the LGBT tourism market.

Here is the WTM Out Now Gay Marketing Masterclass media release that relates to that presentation:

Gay Travel Valued at Almost £5 billion Pounds Annually. New Data Revealed at WTM.

- The latest UK market research data on gay and lesbian travel has been revealed at London's WTM.
- The Mark Travel Corporation gets behind the gay market by joining Out Now's GayComfort training program.

Gay and lesbian people living in the UK last year spent a total of £4.7 billion pounds on leisure travel.

This market also spent a total of £47.2 million pounds last year on gay honeymoons, with more than 8,700 couples entering into Civil Partnerships during 2007, and each couple spending more than £5,000 pounds on their honeymoon.

These figures are being revealed this week at London's World Travel Market during the 'Out Now Gay Marketing Masterclass' by Ian Johnson, CEO of Out Now.

The data is sourced from the most comprehensive gay market research study ever undertaken of the UK market - the 'Out Now 2008 Millivres Gay Market Study' - and analyses the travel and spending habits of gays and lesbians across the UK.

"Gays and lesbians are a lucrative market, that is now well understood," Johnson says. "But what the travel industry needs to get a better grasp on is the fact that there is immense diversity within the gay consumer market for travel. Many operators are missing significant opportunities to maximise their profits by mistakenly attempting a 'one-size-fits-all' approach to their gay tourism marketing activities."

Johnson said that communications was not the only area of concern when selling travel to gay consumers.

"Operators need to look at all elements of their marketing mix - including product differentiation, when targeting gay customers. Many gays and lesbians remain worried about how welcoming travel staff will be when they are on their vacations."

In terms of product differentiation, Johnson unveiled Out Now's latest gay consumer travel information site - GayComfort - letting consumers discover where they can stay with staff specially trained on meeting lesbian and gay travel concerns.

"GayComfort is all about training staff to deliver the best in customer service for gay customers, then letting consumers select those locations and properties with accredited GayComfort trained staff," said Johnson. "The consumer gets to 'know before they go' that when they travel they can enjoy what mainstream consumers usually take for granted - being able to relax and be themselves."

One of the biggest names in tourism - The Mark Travel Corporation - through their Fabugo.com gay travel brand, announced at WTM that they have entered into a partnership with GayComfort.

Fabugo.com is to deliver GayComfort accredited hotels to the gay consumer market via their extensive network of accommodation around the world. Fabugo is a leading supplier of accommodations to the lesbian and gay travel market and is owned by The Mark Travel Corporation. Fabugo.com features secure online booking of more than 25,000 hotels in hundreds of destinations worldwide.

Jason M Rhen, Managing Director of Fabugo, said his company's partnering with the GayComfort program makes a lot of sense. "Fabugo listens to our customers and constantly strives to improve our product quality for gay and lesbian travelers," says Mr Rhen. "By helping the industry train their staff to improve their service delivery on gay travel issues, GayComfort fits perfectly with what our customers are looking for from us in terms of well tailored product. This partnership delivers a great synergy for our business, and most importantly for our gay and lesbian customers."

The 'Out Now WTM 2008 Gay Marketing Masterclass' is presented by Out Now founder and CEO, Ian Johnson, at London WTM on November 12.

About Out Now

Established in 1992, Out Now is relied upon by the world's leading brands to understand and meet the consumer needs of gay and lesbian people worldwide. Travel clients include Lufthansa, German National Tourist Office, Switzerland Tourism, South Africa Tourism, Qantas, KLM, DFS Galleria and Hilton. Other Out Now clients include IBM, Toyota, Orange and Barclays. Out Now services include communications, market research, strategy and staff training.

The research data in this release must be referenced as the 'Out Now 2008 Millivres Gay Market Study'. Data was collected from 1231 respondents from across the UK. Users of www.gaytimes.co.uk , www.divamag.co.uk , www.pinkpaper.com , Gay Times (GT), DIVA and Pink Paper formed the data sample analysed.

Out Now and UK Home Office data assess the total number of gays and lesbians as being 6% of the adult population, a total measured by Out Now as 2.95 million people living right across the UK.

For more information:

Ian Johnson
Founder and CEO
Out Now
Cell/mobile: +44-(0)7906 553 990
info(at)outnowconsulting.com
OutNowConsulting.com
GayComfort.com
GayMarketNews.com

If you would like Out Now to help you take your marketing to the leading edge, please do get in touch.

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Gay Tourism £4.7 Billion Value

The gay and lesbian travel market has been centre stage at London WTM World Travel Market this week. Out Now has just released the value of the UK gay and lesbian leisure travel market annual spend. And it's big.


Ian Johnson, Out Now
November 13, 2008

United Kingdom lesbian and gay travel market. UK gay tourism. British pink pound. London WTM World Travel Market. Out Now Millivres Gay Market Study. Latest UK gay market travel research data revealed by Out Now and Millivres Prowler at London WTM.

Leisure travel is an industry that relies almost entirely on discretionary spend. Disposable income is the key arbiter as to the total market value of the leisure travel market.

Yesterday at the premier travel industry event London WTM - World Travel Market - I presented the latest research data on the value of the UK lesbian and gay leisure travel market.

And it shows a strong growth from the previous Out Now Millivres gay market research study of 2005.

As I pointed out yesterday in the Out Now Gay Marketing Masterclass - gays and lesbians are not immune to the effects of the recession.

But when it comes to holding disposable income available for discretionary spending - such as leisure travel - the gay consumer market is an appealing one.

DINKs - Double income No Kids, make up around half the total gay and lesbian consumer market, and account for more than half the total market value.

Children are expensive and the absence of children in gay households leaves more room in the budget for travel.

How well gay spending holds up against mainstream spending in the Credit Crunch of 2008 is a factor we will need to wait just a little while longer to see.

But based on the numbers we released yesterday and the healthy growth seen from 2005 to 2007, I suspect that gay consumers are likely to become even more interesting to hotels, airlines and destinations seeking to protect the bottom line as we enter 2009.

If you would like more information on the Out Now Millivres UK Gay Market Study, just contact Out Now.

Like this? Subscribe to Gay Market News. It's free. Enter your email address:

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Gay market insight is Out Now: Gay Marketing. Solved. OutNowConsulting.com
To contact Out Now, send us an email.
-------------------

For information and help with understanding key gay and lesbian marketing issues, to most effectively understand and meet the consumer needs of the lesbian and gay market, rely on the gay market experts, Out Now. Leading in the gay market since 1992.

All content on all Out Now websites (C) 2008 - Out Now. If you find any material you believe is subject to other copyrights here, other than allowed fair use for copyright purposes, please contact Out Now with details. LGBT communications. Gay PR. Global GLBT marketing, gay public relations strategy, GLBT PR, LGBT issues training, gay advertising, LGBT market, lesbian and gay market research leaders, gay marketing. Gay Market News is Gay Marketing 101 - Out Now Gay Marketing, Advertising, Gay PR, Market Research. Travel Market. Training. Out Now Gay Market News -- Gay Marketing 101 gay market updates site. gay market gay advertising gay marketing gay tourism gay travel pink dollar pink pound gay agency advertising marketing travel tourism gay lesbian gay and lesbian market research glbt lgbt communications community pink euro

Out Now Gay Marketing Masterclass

This week Out Now presents the latest in gay marketing strategies to the global travel industry at London's WTM World Travel Market.


Ian Johnson, Out Now
November 11, 2008


TOPICS: WTM. World Travel Market. London. Gay marketing. Out Now gay and lesbian marketing seminar at leading global travel industry trade show.

This Wednesday Out Now brings its Gay Marketing Masterclass to London's World Travel Market.

Held for the third year, this year's topic is:

Homosexual Not Homogenous.
- The importance of market segments when selling travel to the lesbian and gay markets.

Panel of Speakers

Ian Johnson, CEO, Out Now Consulting
Carlos Kytka, European Ambassador, IGLTA
Dick Stroud, Founder, 20plus30
Kim Watson, Media Director, Millivres Prowler

Seminar Details

This seminar will present the latest tourism market research data (previously unreleased UK data on annual leisure travel spend, latest value of gay honeymoons market, complemented by the latest US market data research); highlighting usually unconsidered aspects of the market (segment distinctions); and also extend the capacity for the hotel and tourism sector to better understand and meet gay consumer concerns when travelling.

This seminar will premiere the new consumer travel accreditation site, GayComfort.

You can find more information at the official WTM Out Now Gay Marketing Masterclass web page.

There is also information online at Yahoo Upcoming as well.

Those of you in London this week for WTM, please be sure to drop by and say hello.

If you would like Out Now to help you take your marketing to the leading edge, please do get in touch.

Like this? Subscribe to Gay Market News. It's free. Enter your email address:

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To learn how to get lesbian and gay marketing strategy right -- rely on gay marketing expert strategic advice from Out Now -- the leading experienced global strategic gay marketing, research and communications agency.